Fluid pressure actuated roll chuck



Filed Feb. 12, 1954 INVENTOR.

A TTORNE/s United States Patent FLUID PRESSURE ACTUATED RoLL CHUCK Clarence W. Miller, Eland, Wis., assignor to D. J. Murray Manufacturing Co., Wausau, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application February 12, 1954, Serial No. 409,893

6 Claims. (Cl. 242-72) My invention relates generally to improvements in apparatus for imparting rotary motion from a driving shaft to a hollow roll disposed coaxially of the shaft, and relates more specifically to various improvements in the construction and operation of fluid pressure actuated driving chucks for effecting winding or unwinding of paper rolls or the like.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved fluid pressure actuated roll driving chuck which is simple and compact in construction and highly effective in use.

It has heretofore been proposed to utilize fluid pressure actuated paper roll driving chucks each comprising inner and outer jaws relatively movable by means of an intervening annular inflatable element, and adapted to be used in the paper making industry for the purpose of winding and unwinding paper stock upon or from sturdy cardboard cores or tubes which initially become a part of each final paper roll. While this prior chuck is entirely satisfactory so far as performance is concerned, it is rather complicated and diflicult to construct and to assemble, and it is also relatively bulky and necessarily of large diameter which in many instances interferes with proper winding and unwinding of the paper stock on the cores. These prior chucks were also quite costly to construct, and in some cases where the driving shafts were coated with oil or grease the inner jaws did not properly grip these roll propelling shafts.

It is therefore an important object of my present invention to provide various improvements in this type of pneumatic or fluid pressure actuated roll chuck whereby all of the above mentioned objections are eliminated and more useful chuck results.

Another important object of this invention is to provide an improved chuck assemblage for imparting rotary motion from a driving shaft to a hollow roll core or the like, which is extremely compact and comprises few simple parts adapted to be readily constructed and assembled.

A further important object of the invention is to provide an improved hollow roll chuck unit of durable construction and which may be manufactured at moderate cost in various sizes and for diverse uses.

Still another important object of my invention is to provide an improved driving chuck for transmitting motion from a rotary drive shaft to a hollow roll most effectively and with minimum loss of power due to slippage.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description from which it will be noted that the gist of my improvement is the provision of a chuck for drivingly connecting a rotary shaft with a hollow roll and which comprises only a sturdy annular housing support of relatively small external diameter having inner and outer jaws both radially movably confined therein and coacting respectively with the interior and with the exterior of an annular flexible element which when expanded causes the inner jaws to effectively grip the shaft while simultaneously causing the outer jaws to likewise grip the interior of the hollow roll, and wherein these jaws may be readily inserted or removed and are released without the aid of springs or the like upon collapse of the annular element. 7

A clear conception of the novel features constituting the present improvement and of the construction and operation of a typical commercial fluid pressure actuated roll driving chuck embodying the invention, may be had by 2,697,563 Patented Dec. 21, 1954 referring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various views.

Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal section through a practical roll driving chuck of the improved type, taken along the line 1--1 of Fig. 2, and showing fragments of the driving shaft and of the driven hollow roll; and

Fig. 2 is a partial end view and transverse vertical section through the chuck, the section having been taken along the line 22 of Fig. l, and the paper roll having been omitted.

Although the chuck specifically illustrated and described embodies three sets of radially movable inner and outer jaws and is especially adapted to drive paper rolls, it is not my intention to unnecessarily restrict the improvement by virtue of this limited embodiment and usage. It is also contemplated that specific descriptive terms employed herein be given the broadest possible interpretation consistant with the disclosure.

Referring to the drawing, the improved fluid pressure actuated roll chuck illustrated, is especially adapted to drivingly connect the tubular core 5 of a roll 6 of paper stock, with a rotary driving member or shaft 7 disposed in axial alinement with the hollow roll 6, and the improved chuck shown by way of illustration comprises in general, an annular housing or support 8 surrounding the shaft 7 and having three pairs of radial guideways 9 formed integral with one end thereof; a set of three arcuate inner shaft gripping jaws 10 confined within the housing support 8 and substantially surrounding the shaft 7; a set of three outer core gripping jaws 11 having radial medial portions 12 slidably cooperable with the guideways 9 and also having elongated arcuate end portions 13 confined within the housing support 8 in spaced relation to the inner jaws 10; and an annular inflatable element 14 interposed between the inner jaws 10 and the outer jaw portions 13 and being expansible to simultaneously force the inner jaws 10 into driving engagement with the shaft 7 and the outer jaws 11 into driving engagement with the interior of the roll core 5.

The annular housing or support 8 is preferably formed of a single piece of metal having a smooth external peripheral surface of minimum diameter, and this support is provided at its end adjacent to the guideways 9 with an annular wear plate 16 secured thereto by cap screws 17, 1nd at its opposite end with an annular closure cover l8 likewise secured to the support by cap screws 19. The year plate 16 and closure cover 18 are also preferably formed of durable metal and the inner faces of these wear and closure members are plane surfaces disposed perpendicular to the axis of the shaft 7. The support 8 is also provided with an adjustable stop screw 20 disposed radially with respect to the shaft 7 between each pair of guideways 9, for limiting the outward movement of the adjacent outer jaw portions 12 along these guideways.

The inner jaws 10 are preferably constructed of moulded asbestos or other similar material adapted to most effectively grip the shaft periphery, and each of these jaws 10 substantially constitutes a segment of a hollow cylinder embracing the shaft 7. Each of the inner jaws 10 is provided with a pair of central radial sockets 22, and the jaws 10 extend along the shaft 7 from the wear plate 16 to the cover 18 but are loosely confined within the support 8 so that they may move freely toward and away from the shaft periphery.

The outer jaws 11 are preferably formed of durable metal and each of these jaw assemblages comprising its jaw 11 and the portions 12, 13, is a rigid unitary structure adapted to move radially between the adjacent guideways 9 to an extent limited by the stop screws 20, and these screws 20 may be adjusted so as to insure equal outward movement of all of the jaws 11 and resultant uniform gripping of the core 5 coaxially of the shaft 7. The elongated end portion 13 of each outer jaw 11 also substantially constitutes a segment of a hollow cylinder embracing the flexible element 14, and each of these outer jaw portions 13 is provided with a pair of central radial sockets 24 which may be disposed in radial alinement with the corresponding sockets 22 of the adjacent inner jaws 10.

The gripping portions of the outer jaws 11 may also be "provided with elongated'teeth or serrations as shown in Fig. 2, and the outer jaw portions 13 also extend from the wear plate 16 to the cover 18 but are loosely confined within the support 8 so as to permit them to movefreely toward and away from the shaft axis.

The annular flexible and expansible bag-like element 14 which is interposed between the inner jaws 10 and the outer jaw portions 13 is preferably formed of resilient material such as soft rubber, and has an inner cylindrical surface which embraces the segmental inner jaws and an outer cylindrical peripheral surface which engages the segmental outer jaw portions. This flexible element 14 is confined within the support 8 and substantially spans the space between the wear plate 1-6 and the cover 18, and the interior of the bag element is provided with integral lugs 26 which snugly engage the inner'jaw sockets 22 while the exterior of the element 14 is likewise provided with integral lugs 27 which snugly engage the outer jaw sockets 24. The opposite ends of the expansible element 14 are closed to provide an annular chamber'28 and one end of the bag'is provided with a nipple 29 with which a valve assembly 30 for admitting fluid under pressure such as air to the chamber 28 and for exhausting the fluid therefrom, is associated. This valve assembly 30 may be similar to the ordinary automobile tire valve assemblage, and may be disposed entirely within the cover 18.

When the improved fluid pressure actuated roll chuck has been thus properly constructed and assembled, and applied to a driving shaft 7 and a paper roll core-5, air or other fluid under pressure may be admitted to the chamber 28 past the valve assembly 30, thereby causing the inner wall of the expansible element 14 to force the three segmental inner jaws 14 into firm gripping engagement with the shaft periphery, and simultaneously causing the outer wall of the bag to force the three segmental outer jaw portions 13 radially outwardly thereby forcing the integral outer jaws 11 into firm gripping engagement with the interior of the core 5. The valve assembly 30 will thereafter confine the fluid under pressure within the chamber 28, and subsequent rotation of the shaft 7 will be positively transmitted without slippage to the hollow paper roll core'5.

In order to release the chuck it is only necessary to depress the valve of the assembly 30 from its seat, after the shaft 7 has been brought to rest, whereupon the fluid pressure in the chamber 28 will drop and the flexible element 14 will contract or collapse sufficiently tocause the inner lugs 26 to pull the inner jaws 10 away from the shaft periphery and to simultaneously cause the outer lugs 27 to pull the outer jaw portions 13 together with the jaws 11 inwardly toward the axis of the driving shaft 7. The chuck unit may then be freely withdrawn from the paper roll, and the latter may be likewise withdrawn longitudinally from the shaft7, and the stop screws 20 may be utilized to properly centralize the outer jaws 11 and the roll core with respect to the driving shaft and to limit the depth to which the serrations of the outer jaws are driven into the paper roll core 5.

In order to dismantle the improved chuck assembly it is only necessary to remove a few cap screws 17, 19 whereupon all parts may be readily separated from each other, and assembly of the improved unit may be just as easily effected. The inner and outer jaws 1t), 11 have translatory movement only while being driven into gripping position and when being released, and the use of pivots for suspending these jaws is entirely avoided. The formation of the resilient element 14 with truly cylindrical inner and outer bounding surfaces insures such translatory movement of the jaws and the lugs 26, 27 cooperate with the adjacent sockets 22, 24 to maintain the jaws and the outer jaw portions 13 in proper position within the support 8 at all times. The improved assemblage also eliminates the necessity of utilizing springs and other structure which are difficult to assemble and are subject to breakage, and enables the exterior of the support 8 to be reduced to minimum diameter while also permitting the various parts to be readily constructed for accurate cooperation.

From the foregoing detailed description of the construction and operation of a typical fluid pressure actuated chuck embodying the invention, it will be apparent that thepresent improvements in fact provide a unit composed of relatively few simple but sturdy parts which may be conveniently assembled to produce an eflicieut rotary moiii) tion transmitting device. The improved chuck unit besides'being simpler than the prior Collard chuck,'is also far more compact and less expensive to manufacture, and the formation of the inner jaws 10 of special material such as moulded asbestos also eliminates possible slippage on the driving shaft 7. These chucks may be built in various sizes and for diverse uses, and the improvement has proven highly satisfactory and successful in actual operation especially for use in driving hollow paper rolls.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this invention to the exact details of construction and operation of the triple jaw chuck herein specifically shown and described, for various modification within the scope of the appended claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a chuck for drivingly connecting a rotary shaft with a hollow roll, a support surrounding the shaft and having radial guideways thereon, inner jaws movably confined within said support and being engageable with said shaft to drivingly connect the support to the shaft, outer jaws having portions movably confined within said support and slidable along said guideways and said outer jaws being engageable with the interior of the roll to drivingly connect said roll to the support, said inner jaws and said outer jaw portions having oppositely directed sockets therein, and an annular inflatable element interposed between said inner jaws and said outer jaw portions and having integral inner and outer lugs engageable with said sockets.

2. In a chuck for drivingly connecting a rotary shaft with a hollow roll, a support surrounding the shaft, inner jaws movably confined within said support and being engageable with said shaft to drivingly connect the support to the said, outer jaws having portions movably confined within said support and being engageable with the interior of the roll to drivingly connect said roll to the support, said inner jaws and said outer jaw portions having alined sockets therein, and an annular inflatable element interposed between said innerjaws and said outer jaw portions within said support and having integralinwardly and outwardly projecting lugs engageabie with said sockets.

3. In a chuck for drivingly connecting a rotary shaft with a hollow roll, a support surrounding the shaft, inner jaws movably confined within said support and being engageable with said shaft to drivingly connect the support to the shaft, outer jaws having portions movably confined within said support and being engageable with the interior of the roll to drivingly connect said hollow roll to the support, and an annular inflatable element interposed between said inner jaws and said outer jaw portions within said support and being formed to transmit translatory motion only to said jaws.

4. In a chuck for drivingly connecting a rotary shaft with a hollow roll, a support surrounding the shaft, inner segmental jaws movably confined within said support and being engageable with said shaft to drivingly connect the support to the shaft, outer jaws having segmental portions movably confined within said support and being engageable with the interior of the roll to drivingly connect said hollow roll to the support, and an annular inflatable element interposed between said inner jaws and said outer jaw portions and having inner and outer cylindrical surfaces coacting with said segmental inner jaws and with said segmental outer jaw portions to transmit motion of translation only of said jaws relative to said shaft.

5. In a chuck for drivingly connecting a rotary shaft with a hollow roll, a support surrounding the shaft and having radial guideways thereon, inner segmental jaws radially movable within said support and being engageable with said shaft to drivingly connect the support to the shaft, outer jaws having segmental portions radially movable within said support and slidable along said guideways, said outer jaws being engageable with the interior of the roll to drivingly connect said roll to the support and said inner segmental jaws and said outer segmental jaw portions having oppositely directed retaining members thereon, and an annular inflatable element interposed between said inner jaws and said outer jaw portions and having retaining members cooperable with said jaw members to maintain the jaws in proper position relative to said support.

6. In a chuck for drivingly connecting a rotary shaft with a hollow roll, a'support-sur'rounding the shaft, inner gral retainers cooperable with said jaw retainers to positively push and pull the aws in opposite directions relative to said shaft and said roll.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,520,126 Collard Aug. 29, 1950 

